With bragging rights on the line, Cowell didn’t hold back when it came to Mandel’s mentoring.

Rising country star Drake Milligan has celebrated number one hits — and charmed ladies around the globe — after debuting his original song, “Sounds Like Something I’d Do,” on America’s Got Talent Season 17. So when it came time for the judges to choose their Dream Teams for America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League, Howie Mandel scooped up the talented Texas native whom he described as “one of the most successful Acts in AGT history.”

The singer-songwriter had a banner year that cemented his place in the country landscape and wanted to switch things up for Fantasy League, which Simon Cowell thought was a bad call.

For the first time, the “New Elvis of Country” performed a song that he had not penned himself: “I want to show that I’m not just a one-trick pony,” he told Howie in a Fantasy League interview, adding, “I believe in this song.”

Both agreed the change would be scary, but Mandel encouraged the young artist to take a risk.

“This is a big swing, but you can’t hit a homerun without taking a big swing,” the Mentor said.